Electric Cars Won’t Kill Oil Demand
Although they are growing in popularity, electric cars will not kill demand for oil. Moreover, oil demand will continue to rise because trucks, rather than small passenger vehicles, have not found suitable electric alternatives yet. Neither has the petrochemical industry. This is how Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), dismissed the oft-heard argument that electric cars will kill the oil age. According to the IEA, 550,000 electric cars were sold last year, less than one percent of the world total. But, there are questions as to just how ‘clean’ electric vehicles really are. (Source: “IEA doubts electric cars will end oil age,” RT, November 3, 2016.)
Indeed, while touted as the solution to the problems of pollution and greenhouse gases, electric cars have a dark side. Such is their negative impact that one wonders whether the social and environmental impact of electric cars is that much better than conventional vehicles. Amnesty International—not Royal Dutch Shell or Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)—pointed out that several major manufacturers use batteries made with cobalt. Much of the cobalt is mined by exploiting children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). (Source: “Child labour reported in electric cars supply chain,” New Europe, October 12, 2016.)
Advertisement
More than half of the cobalt mined in the world comes from the DRC, and a significant portion is obtained through the traditional method of forcing children to work in mines. Amnesty International identifies several manufacturers of electric cars as particularly “at risk” of using cobalt mined in unacceptable conditions, including the millennials’ favorite: Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).
Cobalt is one of the main materials used to make lithium-ion batteries. These are used in smartphones and electric vehicles. The problem is that some 20% of all cobalt is mined by using child laborers and young adults. They work in terrible conditions in “artisanal mining” areas, where they risk deadly accidents and lung diseases for a measly wage of one dollar per day. (Source: Ibid.)
